Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Practices among Iranian EFL Learners

Two hundred and fifty Iranian EFL learners participated in research into their use of mobile devices. Drawing on questionnaire and interview data, the paper examines how far the devices were embedded in the personal and professional lives of these learners, most of whom were aged 25-36. All had experience of online and distance education, and most worked in education or training. The study revealed some innovative uses of mobile devices, a selection of which is reported in this paper. The paper links the findings to wider debates about the changing relationship between learners and educational institutions, and the role of mobile devices in enabling individuals to engage in learning conversations. Data are provided on which devices were used by the learners and for what purposes, and the paper explores the implications of these findings for educators

Mobile-facilitated Time and Place among Iranian EFL Learners

Language learning is changing in a mobile technology-rich landscape and under the influence of new learner practices stemming from personal perspectives on the best places for learning and from evolving uses of available time. The key aim of this study is to conceptualize the relation between the focus of language learning and the dimensions of time and place among Iranian EFL learners. The study aims to assess what effect this might have on language learning in terms of curriculum or the design of learning activities. It draws on a survey study led by the authors, investigating how Iranian EFL learners use mobile technologies to support their learning, and particularly on interview data from the most recent project, which has focused on learners’ experiences with the use of mobile devices to support language learning. Learning activities undertaken by the interviewees were wide-ranging, with evidence of the importance of both easy learning and challenge. Specific findings relating to time and place of learning are reported. As mobile technology developments and the availability of mobile services and applications accelerate, educators and researchers need conceptual frameworks to enable them to interpret emerging learner practices. New language learning activities and services can be designed on the basis of this understanding. By reviewing individual learner experiences in learner-determined contexts, researchers and the language teaching community can work together to build up a picture of emergent practices and formulate the implications for the design of language teaching and learning now and in the future

Mobile-facilitated Time and Place among Iranian EFL Learners

Language learning is changing in a mobile technology-rich landscape and under the influence of new learner practices stemming from personal perspectives on the best places for learning and from evolving uses of available time. The key aim of this study is to conceptualize the relation between the focus of language learning and the dimensions of time and place among Iranian EFL learners. The study aims to assess what effect this might have on language learning in terms of curriculum or the design of learning activities. It draws on a survey study led by the authors, investigating how Iranian EFL learners use mobile technologies to support their learning, and particularly on interview data from the most recent project, which has focused on learners’ experiences with the use of mobile devices to support language learning. Learning activities undertaken by the interviewees were wide-ranging, with evidence of the importance of both easy learning and challenge. Specific findings relating to time and place of learning are reported. As mobile technology developments and the availability of mobile services and applications accelerate, educators and researchers need conceptual frameworks to enable them to interpret emerging learner practices. New language learning activities and services can be designed on the basis of this understanding. By reviewing individual learner experiences in learner-determined contexts, researchers and the language teaching community can work together to build up a picture of emergent practices and formulate the implications for the design of language teaching and learning now and in the future

Mobile-facilitated Time and Place among Iranian EFL Learners

Language learning is changing in a mobile technology-rich landscape and under the influence of new learner practices stemming from personal perspectives on the best places for learning and from evolving uses of available time. The key aim of this study is to conceptualize the relation between the focus of language learning and the dimensions of time and place among Iranian EFL learners. The study aims to assess what effect this might have on language learning in terms of curriculum or the design of learning activities. It draws on a survey study led by the authors, investigating how Iranian EFL learners use mobile technologies to support their learning, and particularly on interview data from the most recent project, which has focused on learners’ experiences with the use of mobile devices to support language learning. Learning activities undertaken by the interviewees were wide-ranging, with evidence of the importance of both easy learning and challenge. Specific findings relating to time and place of learning are reported. As mobile technology developments and the availability of mobile services and applications accelerate, educators and researchers need conceptual frameworks to enable them to interpret emerging learner practices. New language learning activities and services can be designed on the basis of this understanding. By reviewing individual learner experiences in learner-determined contexts, researchers and the language teaching community can work together to build up a picture of emergent practices and formulate the implications for the design of language teaching and learning now and in the future

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Practices among Iranian EFL Learners

Two hundred and fifty Iranian EFL learners participated in research into their use of mobile devices. Drawing on questionnaire and interview data, the paper examines how far the devices were embedded in the personal and professional lives of these learners, most of whom were aged 25-36. All had experience of online and distance education, and most worked in education or training. The study revealed some innovative uses of mobile devices, a selection of which is reported in this paper. The paper links the findings to wider debates about the changing relationship between learners and educational institutions, and the role of mobile devices in enabling individuals to engage in learning conversations. Data are provided on which devices were used by the learners and for what purposes, and the paper explores the implications of these findings for educators

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Practices among Iranian EFL Learners

Two hundred and fifty Iranian EFL learners participated in research into their use of mobile devices. Drawing on questionnaire and interview data, the paper examines how far the devices were embedded in the personal and professional lives of these learners, most of whom were aged 25-36. All had experience of online and distance education, and most worked in education or training. The study revealed some innovative uses of mobile devices, a selection of which is reported in this paper. The paper links the findings to wider debates about the changing relationship between learners and educational institutions, and the role of mobile devices in enabling individuals to engage in learning conversations. Data are provided on which devices were used by the learners and for what purposes, and the paper explores the implications of these findings for educators

SUCCESS WITH ENGLISH: THREE WHO ACHIEVED IT AND WHAT WORKED FOR THEM

Good language learner studies show that attending to form is associated with successful learning. This paper reports interviews with three university English majors who had been the best students in a talk show program and got a score band of 7 or beyond in IELTS. The interviewees regarded text memorization and imitation as the most effective methods of learning English. They had been initially forced to use these methods but gradually came to appreciate them. The practice enabled them to attend to and learn collocations and sequences, to borrow these sequences for productive use, to improve pronunciation, and to develop the habit of attending to details of language in the context of language input. The paper concludes that such practice enhances noticing and rehearsal and hence facilitates second language acquisition

The Effect of Genre-Based Teaching on EFL Learners' Speaking Performance

Abstract The present study examined the effect of genre-based tasks on EFL learners' speaking performance and probed whether genre-based tasks may empower EFL learners to perform better on speaking tests. A further concern of the study was to explore whether the effect of genre-based tasks on speaking ability of EFL learners varied across different age groups, i.e. teenagers (13-16 years old) and young adults (24-27 years old). To this end, some generic based consciousness-raising tasks (CRT) were adapted from the model proposed by Benedict (2006) to develop control of a genre used as the treatment procedures. Two different speaking tests of different genres (e.g. recount, report, review, etc.), used as pretest and posttest, were administered to 120 senior university students majoring in English language translation. The results indicated that consciousness-raising tasks significantly affected EFL learners' speaking performance. However, the effect of generic-based CRTs did not vary across different age groups. Overall, the findings provided empirical support for the facilitative effect of generic-based consciousness-raising tasks on speaking performance of EFL learners. The findings may promise implications for EFL speaking syllabuses and provide guidelines to designers to accommodate the insights derived from the genre-based instruction perspective

Using Critical Thinking for L2 Reading Instruction in Iran

Recent researches in teaching L reading comprehension has focused on cognitive and metacognative strategies that can increase students'comprehension and learning of English as a foreign language from written texts. However, the insights from these works have had limited impact on reading comprehension ability of EFL learners. The current ESL reading courses continue to rely on such standard activities as comprehension and skill-building exercises. Strategies training may receive little attention or be taught generically. This article urges English for general purposes (EGP) programs to devise more holistic strategy-oriented approaches for reading instructions. This study was therefore conducted a) to investigate the differences between the traditional method and the critical thinking strategies of teaching reading comprehension passages to Iranian EFL students; b) to explore the differences between male and females' critical thinking abilities that have a crucial impact on their reading comprehension in Iran's EFL environments; c) to find out the differences between the Iranian EFL male and female students' critical thinking abilities in reading comprehension in two proficiency levels of low and high. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 2 male and female Iranian EFL students majoring in English translation were selected from Islamic Azad universities, Ayatollah Amoli, Ghaemeshahr, and Sari branches. Then the subjects were screened into two proficiency levels based on the TOEFL tests. Each proficiency group was divided into critical and non-critical group. Each of the critical and non-critical group was divided into two male and female groups. Statistical analyses revealed that: 1) critical thinking strategies training affects EFL learners' reading comprehension performance. 2) the effect of critical thinking training does not vary across different language proficiency levels. 3) the effect of critical thinking training dose not vary for male and female students. The acquired conclusions indicate that substantial and fundamental changes are indispensable in language teaching and language environments, in general, and opening new doors to critical thinking strategies of reading passages is taken for granted, in particular

The Effect of Genre Consciousness-raising Tasks on EFL Learners' Listening Comprehension Performance

The present study attempted to investigate the effect of genre consciousness-raising activities on listening comprehension performance of EFL learners across language proficiency levels. A number of genre consciousnessraising tasks were adapted from Flowerdew (1993) and used as the treatment procedures in this study. Two different listening comprehension tests of News broadcast genre, used as pre- and post-test, were administered to 120 senior students majoring in English language translation. The results indicated that consciousness-raising tasks significantly affected EFL learners' listening comprehension performance. However, the effect of genre consciousness-raising tasks did not vary across different language proficiency levels. Overall, the findings provide empirical support for the facilitative effect of genre consciousness-raising tasks on the listening comprehension performance of the EFL learners